Crockpot Chipotle Pulled Pork and Pumpkin Chili with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Crockpot Chipotle Pulled Pork and Pumpkin Chili with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Crockpot Chipotle Pulled Pork and Pumpkin Chili with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- salt to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 (2-3) pound pork shoulder roast or butt
- 4 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 (12 ounce) beer (i used pumpkin beer)
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire
- 1 (28 ounce) can fired roasted crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups fresh pumpkin diced (or 1 can pumpkin puree)*
- 1 (14 ounce) can black beans rinsed + drained (optional)
- shredded sharp cheddar cheese sour cream or greek yogurt and cilantro, for topping
- beer bread for serving
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- Carbohydrate 42.5510209590568 g
- Cholesterol 15.2515625065405 mg
- Fat 22.0129065797486 g
- Fiber 5.69857197676025 g
- Protein 10.4993293837434 g
- Saturated Fat 6.73945416056775 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (196g)
- Sodium 1005.50147227986 mg
- Sugar 36.8524489822965 g
- Trans Fat 1.29310143854557 g
- Calories 375 calories
Step-by-step
- Add the pork to the bowl of a crockpot. Drizzle the honey over the pork and then sprinkle with chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the bay leaves and then pour in the beer, cider vinegar, worcestershire, fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the cubed pumpkin and stir to combine.
- Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours (I recommend going low and slow).
- Just before you are ready to shred the pork, make the pumpkin seeds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a heavy-bottomed medium skillet, add the butter and melt over medium heat until just browned. Butter will melt, foam, and froth, and then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Toss well and then spread the mixture out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to make sure nothing is burning. Remove from the oven. Taste and season with salt if desired.
- Remove the pork from the crockpot and let cool slightly. Lightly shred the pork with two forks or your hands and return the meat to the crockpot. Add the black beans. Toss well, cover and warm through. If the chili base is too thin for you liking, add a cup or so of chicken broth until your desired consistency is reached.
- To serve, ladle the chili into bowls. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt and shredded cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the the pumpkin seeds over the chili. EAT!!
Proteins cooked via long-duration moist heat require specific physical cues to signal complete doneness rather than arbitrary clock times. Relying solely on a seven-hour timer risks undercooking tough cuts like pork shoulder if the connective tissue has not fully converted. Collagen begins breaking down into gelatin around 160 degrees Fahrenheit, but the muscle fibers themselves remain tight until internal temperatures exceed 200 degrees. To test doneness without a thermometer, insert a fork into the thickest part of the roast and twist. If the meat offers any structural resistance, the muscle fibers are still bound together and require additional cooking time. When properly converted, the tines should slide through the pork with zero torque, and the meat will part effortlessly under its own weight. Browning butter for the seed topping requires careful observation of visual and auditory indicators. As moisture evaporates from the dairy solids, the foaming subsides and aromatic toasted milk solids settle at the bottom of a heavy-bottomed skillet, signaling the exact moment to add the seeds to prevent scorching at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Substituting canned pumpkin puree for fresh diced pumpkin changes the starch density and moisture absorption of the chili base. Fresh cubed pumpkin releases water during the initial slow-cooker phase, whereas canned puree acts as a thickening agent immediately. Adjust liquid levels by withholding half the beer initially if substituting puree to maintain proper consistency without requiring additional reduction time at the finish.
